The Bards and the Bees
by saiyanchic1234
Summary: DAO setting. Sten/Leliana pairing. A qunari tries to comfort a human before the battle that will decide Ferelden's fate. Hilarity, sweetness, and surprises ensue. K rating for a couple of words. Enjoy!


_Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Dragon Age: Origins or the characters. This a purely fan written story, more so to get the blasted thing out of my head than anything else._

_Disclamier 2: So Sten is one of my favorite characters in Dragon Age. And while I was playing through one of my new files in Dragon Age Origins, I heard a character banter moment between Leliana and Sten that I had never heard before. And the idea for this story sprang from that and just simply refused to go away. I think they make a cute potential pairing, if anything just because she's constantly calling him out on his softer side. So please no flaming messages about how preposterous this pairing could possibly be. There are a few words dropped but other than that, this is nothing but cuteness, intending to stay as true to the characters as possible. _

_Hope you all enjoy it! And if you haven't played Dragon Age, there is only one potential spoiler... but not really since it's about Loghain. Still you've been warned. Other than that, I did my best to be as spoiler free as possible._

_Enjoy! And please feel free to comment!_

_**Let Me Tell You About The Bards and the Bees**_

"DIE PIDGEONS!" _CRASH!_

Sten grimaced as the whole of his room shook from the impacts of Shale's feet. The blasted golem had decided she would rest just outside his window and declare her own damn war against the entirety of the winged vermin population of Redcliffe.

_As if the coming battle was not enough to keep us all awake and on edge… _

After the Landsmeet and the defeat of Teryn Loghain, the Warden and their other companions had traveled back to Redcliffe Castle to regroup and prepare for the final assault against the darkspawn. Once at the castle, Arl Eamon had revealed that the horde as well as the archdemon were heading for Denerim and were a mere two days march away. Everyone decided that they would begin a forced march to Denerim at daybreak and that the party should spend the remainder of the day and night resting and preparing for the battle ahead.

Sten looked around his room. The Arl had been kind enough to offer all of the Warden's companions their own accommodations for the evening. The elder mage had decided to stay in the village Chantry, as to look after the children and spend the evening in prayer. The elf had chosen the smallest room, as he had plans to remain in the village tavern for the large portion of the eve. The dwarf had chosen the second smallest room and, by his request, the one closest to the kitchen. He had left with the elf for the tavern, but not before asking the female bard where she was planning to sleep. She had shot both him and the elf a deadly look and threatened that, should she awake to see either of them in her room, the archdemon would be the least of their worries. In the end, she had chosen the room down the hall from his own, as she enjoyed the view of the lake.

The kadan and her fellow Grey Warden had been offered separate rooms but they had decided to room together; "to ensure everyone had a place to sleep…" she had said… to which the elf had snorted and smiled devilishly, making a snide remark about the sound of knocking boots coming down the hallway. Ignoring him, the Warden had then offered her room to Morrigan should she desire a bed in the end; the Wilds witch had decided from the start to sleep out of doors, as she had never been accustomed to a soft bed nor such well furnished surroundings.

Sten smirked to himself. _With the golem outside, I'd bet she's regretting that decision._

He moved to the window. He had chosen the room with the simplest furnishings and largest bed available. To his luck and appreciation, his room had a fine view of the flower gardens and trees in the courtyard… as well as Shale's preferred roost in the thatched shed nearby.

After everyone had settled into their rooms, the bard declared that the females of the group were to partake in what was known as a "bonding moment:" a group bathing ritual of some sort. Grabbing both the Warden and the witch's wrists, she drug them off to the community bath, Morrigan protesting the entire way. He had passed by the door once while they were "bonding" and was hardly surprised to hear giggling and whispers coming from within nor to find the elf and dwarf attempting to peep, much less listen, through the key hole.

The evening had resulted in dinner as well as some music from some of the more talented elven servants in the Castle. The Arl's son, Conner, had even sung them a song, in honor of his mother's sacrifice and the Warden had sang them a song about the first Grey Wardens, one that had been her favorite even before she had known what Grey Wardens were. After the music had died down and the majority of the ale was gone, a solemn, disquieting nervousness settled over the main hall, causing most of the inhabitants to retire to their rooms, despite the fact that the sun still cast an amber glow through the windows.

Sten now stood admiring the final rays of that same glow out his window, content and fairly at ease about the upcoming battle. He watched as the kadan's furry companion, Odin, jumped around, antagonizing the birds that landed on the ground in the courtyard and chasing them towards Shale so she could squash them. It was slightly disturbing to him how well their little duo worked.

He shrugged and returned to pacing about his room. Now that the halls were fairly quiet, his mind had begun to wander again. Even before Shale's pounding had interrupted his meditation, he had felt a slight underlying anxiousness that he could not place. He did not fear the battle to come; if it was his time to die, he would accept that fate. The kadan was a true warrior, leader, and an even truer friend. He continually felt honored by her faith and trust in him and he relished the time he had spent fighting at her side.

He favored them all, in truth. The Warden had assembled a bizarre group of individuals but, under her guidance and leadership, they had become an unstoppable small army. Each had their gifts and where one's weaknesses began, another's strengths stepped in to pick up the weight. There was no doubt in his mind that they would end the Blight during this next battle…

_Though I wonder how many of us will be left standing when the dying cries of the archdemon fade…_

Perhaps that was part of the cause for his restlessness: he was worried for his friends and their survival in all this. He hadn't realized it until recently, but he wouldn't mind remaining in this land for a longer period of time, if he could continue traveling with these people. Though with the Blight ended and the dragon slain, he doubted there would be much reason for their merry band to remain together. No… no they would remain in touch but not presence.

Each had their desires of life beyond the fight: the elf was going into business for himself; the dwarf going back to his "old flame" as he called her; the elder mage would return to her tower to oversee its rebuilding then probably die from old age. The witch had not stated what she planned to do, though he doubted she would return to the Wilds. Shale planned to return to Orzammar and learn more about her origins, though she stated that she planned on returning to the surface now and then to squash something for the Warden, for old time's sake. At least the two Warden's would remain together, regardless of their fates. He admired their dedication to one another, though he still did not completely understand it.

_But what of the bard? _

He moved to his bed and sat stiffly on the edge. She had once talked of returning to Orlais or becoming a bard in the new King's court. But recently she had not spoken of it. In fact, she had spoken very little at all, which was very unlike her. Typically she was always lively and telling them stories around the fire at camp. After they had aided the wood elves, she had even sung for them. He remembered that night the most of any of them. Her voice, light and haunting, had danced across the entire encampment, touching the very souls of everyone who chose to listen. He remembered that, though he could not understand the words, the emotions behind them were not lost on him. They had struck heavily on his heart and mind and lingered such.

But more than that, it was that moment that caused his slight fascination with the red-haired bard. He began to notice the subtleties of her nature. He realized how little noise she made when she walked, admired her form and grace in battle, both with a blade and a bow. She was brave, smart, and rather friendly with anyone and everyone. Anytime they traveled together with the Warden, she struck up conversations with all of them at times. She had even taken to teasing _him_ on occasion. He remembered when she had caught him playing with a kitten in Denerim or picking flowers on the way to the mage's tower. She had giggled in her light, bell-like way and jokingly called him "a big softie." He had often retorted how he hated humans, which had only resulted in her giggling more and repeating the phrase.

She enjoyed laughing and did so often… and yet, when she thought no one was watching, a sadness tinged her eyes and face; a weight of sorts, which he could only accredit to the woman who betrayed her and to the memories of her torment upon being framed and captured.

Sten glowered at the floor. He had noticed a decisive change in Leliana's behavior since their encounter with that infernal Marjolaine woman. When she had learned that her old employer and friend had not only betrayed her but wished her dead, Leliana had asked for aid in tracking Marjolaine down. She, along with himself, the templar, and the Warden had traveled to Denerim and confronted the viper. Marjolaine admitted to following Leliana to Ferelden in order to ensure that Leliana did not betray her in kind, and thereby revealing her own paranoia and self-absorption. Leliana chose to put the woman out of her misery; a wise and brave choice, in his opinion.

However, the bard had been very reserved and distant after that moment. She rarely laughed and, when she did, it sounded hollow to his ears. She never sang or hummed on the road anymore either. That saddened him almost as much as the absence of her laughter.

He shook his head in frustration. _Why should he care if she had grown more complacent and withdrawn? He was a Sten of the Beresaad and his mission was to…_

He sighed heavily. He was aware of his mission as well as his pledge to follow the Warden. But Leliana was his friend and, despite his efforts, he cared for her…

_That's what has been troubling me lately. Often she has entered my thoughts during meditation, her singing haunting my dreams. _

He closed his eyes and hung his head.

_…I'm worried about her. _

Suddenly he realized that he had not seen her at dinner. Or at all since the females' supposed bath time together.

_Why wouldn't' she come to dinner? Unless…_

He quickly stood to his feet and strode towards the door.

* * *

Leliana sat at the vanity in her room, enjoying the night breeze that was wafting in through the window. She had laid down after her time in the bath with the girls, hoping to ease a headache that had come on suddenly upon their parting from one another. Dreams had wrestled through her mind for the first couple of hours and she had finally begun to chase them off when Shale's bird ranting and rampaging had abruptly woken her. Grudgingly, she had risen and moved to the vanity to fix her hair, playing with the placement of her braid and brushing her locks absentmindedly as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"_Peasant clothes… hair short and messy like a boy… This is not Leliana…"_ Marjolaine's words echoed through her mind, much as they had since they had first reached her ears. It was one of the disadvantages of being a bard: even if she had wanted to forget something she heard, she couldn't. She grimaced at herself as she ran the brush through her auburn hair. She remembered what she had looked like before coming to Ferelden and she admitted she missed her old appearance. But it had been too dangerous to remain the well-groomed, fashionable lass she had been in Orlais, for fear that Marjolaine would discover her.

"Looks like she found me anyway…" she mumbled to herself. "She always could… especially when I didn't want her to."

She sighed, resigning herself to the mess that looked back at her. It didn't matter what she looked like; the battle for all of Ferelden was on the soon dawning horizon and she doubted that darkspawn nor the archdemon would care if her hair didn't look perfect when they were attempting to strike her down.

She stood and threw herself back on the bed, burying her face in the pillow. Oh how she had missed feather pillows! She had not realized how homesick she had been until she had laid down on the large soft bed… Though she worried about the dreams she would have tonight.

Ever since her reunion with Marjolaine, she hadn't been sleeping well. Her hands and heart felt heavier, food did not have much taste anymore – of course, that could simply have been Alistair's cooking. But it was more than that. She hadn't felt a desire to spend time with her friends nor did she take pleasure in fighting anymore. She clutched at the pillow.

_What's wrong with me? She got what she deserved. She forced me to do this by following me here. How am I supposed to move on with my life if she refused to simply let me be?! _

Despite her best efforts, tears began to flow from her eyes. She had killed someone she loved. Her soul would forever bear that weight… and it was terrible.

_Maybe it would have been better if I had died with her. Then we would both be free of this torture! Why am I still here? I'm not even me anymore! What do I have to live for after this battle? Why am I still here?!_

A sudden knocking on her door broke her from her personal tirade. She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Who is it?"

"It is Sten. May I enter?"

_Sten? What the… _"What do you need?"

"Your permission to enter."

"Why?"

"Because it is your room."

"No, I mean, why do you need to enter my room?"

She heard the exasperation in his voice through the door. "To ask a question."

"So go ahead and ask the question."

"I already have."

_What?! _She sat up. "What was the question?"

"'May I enter?'"

She gave a frustrated sigh. "UGGH! Sten!" She exclaimed and tossed the pillow at the door.

A moment of silence passed. She rose and pulled the door open. There stood Sten, towering over her with a slight smirk on his face.

"You missed."

She glowered at him, her headache beginning to return. "You are absolutely impossible."

His smirk grew slightly. "So I have been told."

She shook her head and walked back inside. When he did not follow, she turned around to see him still in the doorway.

He tilted his head. "May I -"

"Yes!" She cried as he stepped inside. "And close the door behind you. That way if I decide to kill you, there won't be any witnesses."

He gave a short chuckle at that as the door shut behind him. "You could not possibly kill me, bard. I know how you fight, and as skilled as you are, you are no match for a Sten."

She gave him a wry smile. "Whatever you say, Sten." She sat back on the edge of her bed. "Now what do you want?"

He stood in his typical rigid way a few steps from her. "I was coming to inquire after your health. You were not at dinner and looking at you now, you are pale and fatigued."

She gave him an cheeky look. "Probably because a certain qunari came and proceeded to infuriate me through an oak door for five minutes while I was trying to get ready for bed…"

_CRASH!_ The whole room briefly shook. "DAMN PIDGEONS!" Shale's rocky voice echoed in the window.

She grimaced. "...of course Shale hasn't been helping much either." She gave him a small smile. His stern gaze did not change. She sighed resignedly. "Why are you really here, Sten?"

He took a step towards her. "You have not been yourself of late… or at least since you defeated that woman in Denerim. And even though you have gone to great lengths to hide it from the others, I know that your actions have burdened you. Even now you cannot smile at something as simple and foolish as Shale and her pidgeon fettish."

What little energy Leliana had mustered for that smile vanished. Her shoulders slumped slightly and she broke her gaze from his and studied the design on the blankets beneath her. "So you're here to remind of all this and ask why this is so, right?" A slight resentment edged into her voice. "Since humans and qunari are so unalike, this would obviously have effected you differently and you wish to inquire as to why I am behaving in such a silly way when there are darkspawn to fight, no?"

She threw a sharp glance up at him and saw that he was still simply staring at her, patiently waiting for her to finish.

"No." He said simply. "I am here to ask if you are all right. I have been worried for several weeks regarding your behavior and have not been able to approach you until now. This is such a matter that I did not think you would even wish to discuss it in the camp."

Leliana stared up at him, slightly embarrassed at her harsh words. "You… you were worried about me?"

"No, I _am_ worried about you. It has not gone away in the past few seconds." He blinked. "And also, I know what it is to regret a kill and have it follow you. The blood of those farmers still weighs heavy on my own hands."

She could only look at him. "Yes I suppose you can relate, can't you?" A grin pulled at the sides of her mouth. "Thank you," she said quietly.

He cocked an eyebrow. "You are… _thanking_ me for worrying about you?"

She shook her head. "Yes, Sten. I'm not thanking you because you _felt_ worried. It means you were thinking about me. That's why I'm thanking you." His blank stare told her to move on.

"I'm sorry I've worried you, Sten. I didn't mean to. I just… I'm not in the habit of talking about these things with people, or showing what I really feel to others, no matter how much I trust them. In my line of work, expressing such things to the wrong person could get you killed."

He nodded his acceptance but remained stoic and patient. She gave him a heavy sigh and pulled the other pillow into her lap to fiddle with the fringes.

"The truth is…I've never had to kill someone I know. Someone I cared for. It has been difficult coming to terms with the fact that I have within me the ability to take the life of someone so dear to me. Not so much a physical ability but that of the mind. To decide to take the action that I did. Does that make sense?"

The qunari blinked at her. "Yes but was this not also the woman who betrayed you, had you tortured, and then preceded to follow you here, thereby ensuring that you were incapable of obtaining and living the new life you desired?"

Leliana nodded. "I know. She turned out to be a terrible person. But that doesn't mean my feelings for her and my memories of my time with her just vanish because of her actions." Her eyes began to sting as she held back tears.

"She changed my life, Sten. I am the person you know because she molded me into this-this seductive killer who can sing a pretty tune to catch a man's ear." She lowered her head for a moment to gain control of herself.

He was silent for a long moment then,

"Hmm…" She heard him start. "To be honest, for as long as I have been in your acquaintance, you have neither seduced anyone nor publicly sang outside of our group of companions." She looked up at him as he took another step towards her, bringing him only another step from the bed.

"And the only killing you have done, besides the necessary slaying of darkspawn, was to a woman who sought to drag you back into the world you so desperately wished to leave, making that moment also necessary." Leliana could only blink up at him as his simply spoken words rang in her ears. He looked down at her, his expression softening ever so slightly. "You are not the woman Marjolaine accused you of being. You are kind, thoughtful, brave, and fairly easy and enjoyable company." Her eyes must have conveyed the happiness she felt in her chest for he quickly added, "when you are not being completely irritating by calling me ridiculous things and accusing me of picking flowers for purposes other than medicinal."

She gave a short laugh. "Or _training_ kittens, huh?"

He gave her one of his slight smiles. "Precisely."

She grinned up at him. "Thank you, Sten. You know if I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me."

He gave an exasperated sigh. "I swear, between you and the Warden…" She laughed aloud at that.

"I know. We're hopeless. But seriously, thank you. I appreciate your concern and you coming to check up on me. It means a lot."

He relaxed a bit. "I am...sorry this event has effected you so. It has been… painful to see you in such conflict."

She looked at him, brow furrowed. "It has?"

He averted his gaze. He almost looked like he was blushing. "Yes. You are…" he sighed. "You are… special to me. Out of all our companions, you and the Warden have impacted me the most in our time together. But you… I have recently felt…rather protective of you, for some reason. You have come to be as much a part of me as Asala. It is… disquieting when one of the two pieces of my soul are not working in sync. I cannot fully understand why I feel this, though." He looked back to her. "It has actually been rather irritating, to be honest."

She grinned at him, the sweetness of his words not lost on her in the least. "Sten, you are such a big softie." He growled at that, her laughing slightly in response. "But you know, all of that is payback for all those indecisive answers you give when I try to talk to you."

He stuck his chin out, defiant. "They are far from indecisive. You simply ask ridiculous questions to which I am forced to offer equally ridiculous answers."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Again, you are utterly impossible."

A smile pulled at his eyes. "I know," he said quietly, gazing at her. A moment of silence washed over them. He seemed to have something else to say and she figured she'd give him time to sort it out.

"Well then… I am glad to find you not injured or weeping profusely. I had come here in mind to offer a form of comfort, if you had needed it."

Her brow raised on its own. "Oh? What kind of comfort? Wait..." She gave him a sly look. "Did you come here to seduce me, Sten?"

"Somehow I do not think that would be anything but funny for either of us. For you because you are the artist in that area, and because I have never even attempted to try my hand at that."

She laughed out loud. "Sten, you use two hands for your weapon. I'm pretty sure you have the first necessary part of seduction down."

He merely stared at her.

"Nevermind. So what form of comfort did you intend?" She asked, throwing the pillow back to the head of the bed.

He stepped forward and sat stiffly next to her on the bed. He said nothing but merely reached up with one massive hand, cupped her chin with his fingers, and pulled her into a kiss. She froze the moment his lips met hers, not sure what to do. His calloused hands were firm but gentle and felt warm against her chin and neck. Her heart skipped a beat and her stomach fluttered spastically.

_Makers breath! I'm kissing Sten! What… Why… mmmm…_

Despite her mind's confusion, her instincts kicked in and she kissed him back. They sat there for several moments, slowly, softly toying with each other. To her surprise, he was actually very good at it! After a while, her hands moved on their own; one to his knee and one to rest against his thick neck. A few moments later, he gave her one final firm touch and broke the kiss, dropping his hand to the bed but not pulling away.

She looked at him, slight confusion and wonder on her face.

"Sten… that was…"

"I have seen the Warden and the templar doing that on multiple occasions. More often than not, it is response to a moment of fear or doubt coming from either of them. I assumed that this is a human way of offering comfort while also conveying affection for another. Is that correct?"

She gazed at him for a moment then smiled. "Yes, that is part of it. Wait, do the qunari not do this?"

"No. Why would need to comfort one another?"

She sighed. _Am I really that surprised?_

He cocked his head. "Why? Does it have another meaning?"

She nodded. "It's also a way of purely showing affection. People kiss each other when they care for them... usually more so than for anyone else."

He blinked and asked her slowly, his voice hushed and gravelly. "Then… it still applies to us, does it not?"

She could hardly contain her slow smile as he looked to her for understanding, her heart fluttering more than she wanted to admit. Looking at him now, she realized something that she had never admitted before: of all the men she had met in her life – and there had been many – this man, this qunari, who could hardly understand why humans do practically anything that they do, had seen right through her from the very beginning and valued her for the person she wanted to be, despite who she had been. And for that reason – among many others - she loved him.

_Damn it…_

She let the smile slide onto her face. "Yes." She said quietly but firmly. "It does still apply to us."

He nodded slowly and searched her face. She chuckled and looked down for a minute, shaking her head.

_Maker help me…_

Looking back to his face, she saw something cross it, his eyes softening slightly. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his once more. His hand moved to cup her cheek as he kissed her back.

She pulled away and rested her forehead against his, unable to keep a smile off her face.

"Sten…"

"Yes…Leliana…?"

At the first whispering of her name, she gave a short laugh and looked up to find him already gazing at her. She grinned and kissed him lightly before whispering against his lips, her eyes never leaving his,

"…You big softie…"

* * *

_Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Be sure to comment. I do appreciate feedback!_


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